


Heartbreak Hotel

by Theonewhosawitall



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Apologies, Dad Steve McGarrett, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Protective Steve McGarrett, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: Grace gets her heart broken by a kid. Steve get protective.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett & Grace Williams, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 6
Kudos: 137





	1. Chapter 1

"Knives go on the other side," Steve said, unhelpfully as he ate cheerios’ from the box in his hand.

Danny glared at him. "What does it matter? We're eating take out, we shouldn't even need knives!"

"I'm just saying, knives goes on the other side. I've been to more than my fair share of military dinners-" Steve began.

"Yeah well if you want to put the knives on the other side at your place then go home and do it! This is my place, my dinner, my layout!" Danny barked.

"Alright, don’t bite my head off!" Steve smirked.

Danny huffed again. Usually he would have come up with a more creative and threatening come back, but Charlie was in the room. Steve leaned down and stage whispered to him, grinning.

"He's so grumpy, right Charlie?"

"Danno's always grumpy uncle Steve," Charlie said, plainly.

Danny scowled. Steve beamed.

"He is isn’t he? But we love him anyway," Steve said. 

"Yeah," Charlie nodded.

"I love you too buddy," Danny said.

He chose to ignore the jape about him being grumpy. Charlie was only young and he was surrounded by goofballs. 

"What about me? You love me?" Said goofball grinned eagerly. 

"Of course not, you’re a bad influence!" Danny lied. 

Steve laughed through it, pretending not to be hurt by Danny's flippence.

"A bad influence?" He snorted.

"Yes! A bad influence on me, a bad influence on Kono- Charlie put that down dinner's only going to be ten minutes!" 

Charlie pouted. His shoulders sagged as he dropped the handful of cheerios’ back into the box. Steve glanced at Danny. He waited until Danny turned his back to hunt down cups before pouring some back into Charlie's hands.

"Here. Shh," he whispered.

Charlie’s eyes lit up, "Mahalo uncle Steve!"

To make sure he didn’t get caught eating before dinner, Charlie ran off to the other room alone. Danny turned back to Steve. He leaned one arm on the side behind him and set the other of his hip. To do so he had to toss the dish cloth over his shoulder, which knocked the collar of his shirt open slightly wider. He had already removed his tie for the day and now Steve's eyes trailed to his exposed neck. Those Chewbacca chest hairs were peaking through and it was all he could to not to lick his lips.

"Do you think I don’t see what you're doing?" Danny asked drily.

Steve's eyes flicked back up in alarm as part of him wondered what he was doing that exposed him so blatantly. He couldn't have been staring that hard. Although when that thought crossed his mind again he had to fight to keep his eyes fixed with Danny's and not trailing away again.

"What?" He asked, innocently. 

"You’re corrupting my son," Danny accused. 

Steve laughed but it was mostly just relief that Danny hadn't been calling him out for other, more inappropriate things. As much as he tried to keep away Danny had this magnetic pull on him that made him feel at home here. But being comfortable in the privacy of Danny’s own home had lead to Steve becoming less than discrete. At least, less than he would like to have been.

"I am not! I’m just-" Steve began.

His argument failed to come to him. He had definitely been leading Charlie astray recently, but only because he enjoyed spending time with the kids and pushing boundaries. Especially when it irked Danny. Right now he seemed more than irked and Steve still couldn't find a good excuse. 

"Just?" Danny repeated.

"Just..." Steve stammered.

Danny rolled his eyes as no answer came. "Just- just go and help Grace with her home work and get out of my hair! And leave the cheerios’ alone!"

Steve leapt obediently to his feet and nodded. He moved for the door and paused when Danny turned away again. Steve leaned back as far as he could, having to balance on one foot for extra reach, to snatch the box of cheerios’ off of the side. He gave a victorious chuckle and hurried away with the box, fully aware that Danny had seen him do it.

Danny tutted. It was only pride that kept him arguing these days. He didn't mind Steve letting himself in and stealing his food like this was just as much his place as Danny's. Part of him actually liked that Steve felt so comfortable here. After all, it gave him an excuse for never knocking when he walked into Steve's. Even when he knew he'd be walking in to find Steve shirtless, breathless and sweaty, doing push ups in the middle of the floor...

"Uncle Steve's naughty."

Danny glanced up as Charlie spoke. The boy had snuck back in to sit at the table with a cheeky smile. Danny smiled back. 

"He's very naughty! We'll put him on time out when he comes back. Can you find the ketchup for me please?"

Steve jogged up the stairs, holding the box of cereal to his chest. He paused at the top of them to admire the art work on each of the kids doors. Grace's had a little wooden sign engraved with her name to show it was hers, while Charlie's was completely coated with stickers. Hundreds of overlapping stickers that he had been given by teachers and doctors and dentists.

But Steve's eye was drawn to Danny's room for a moment. The door was plain - some would say boring - and slightly ajar. Through the gap he could see the eggshell blue and wood panels design. He could see the wicker hamper that held Danny's laundry. He could even see the corner of Danny's bed.

This place was certainly an upgrade on that grubby little apartment he had been staying in back when Rachel was pregnant with Charlie. 

Grace's room was the furthest down the hall while Danny's was right by the stairs. He had this theory that he had to be positioned there to be involved in everything. The stairs were the only way in or out so if he was beside them his room would be the first port of call for any burglars or revenge seeking criminals or anything else Danny didn’t want to think about. If they found him first, he could buy more time for his kids to get away or hide.

It was also the prime position to see if Grace was trying to sneak out as she grew up, or when Charlie went to find himself a midnight snack. 

Right at the end of the hall was the bathroom. Danny had developed a habit of waking up in the night to pee (which had absolutely NOTHING to do with his age and absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the amount of beer and coffee he consumed while talking to Steve thank you very much!) and checking that both bedrooms were secure as he passed by. 

Steve followed that same path, and he could feel the same sense of protection as he went. He knocked playfully on Grace's door.

"Gracie? Ey, yo, Grace Face?!" He called.

 _"What?!"_ She demanded.

He frowned slightly. He hadn't expected shouting. Then again, her voice was still muffled. Maybe it was the only way to be heard. 

"Danno says I have to help you with your homework, can I come in?" Steve asked. 

"No!" She shouted. 

"No? Um... okay... " His frown deepened.

This wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He could hear something through the door too. Something low and quiet. Curiously he pressed his ear against the door. It was sniffing. 

"Grace... are you crying?"

There was a slightly louder sniffling noise as Grace tried hard to keep herself quiet. Steve's chest tightened as his heart weighed heavily for her. 

"Talk to me Grace. Please."

He rested his head gently against the door, hoping to hear something, anything that meant she was okay. But no reply came.

"Gracie... Gracie I'm gonna come in okay?"

Steve paused again as his hand rested on the handle. He had expected that to cause a reaction. Either for her to shout again or to open the door, but nothing. 

"Here I come. Please don’t throw anything..."

Grace had a temper sometimes. Usually when she was frustrated about missing out on a party or something because she had to spend time with her parents instead. Other kids got to have time with their parents together and then time with their friends, not three separate schedules. The injustice of it all got to her and angered her and then things would go flying. More often than not it was just pillows or soft toys that were designed for toddlers having tantrums, but they still hurt when they hit you square in the chest.

Steve learned that the hard way.

But Grace wasn't in the mood for throwing things. She was laying face down across her bed with her head buried under her arms. Steve could hear her muffled cries as he crept in and closed the door behind him. Just the sight of her looking so upset broke his heart.

She didn’t look up when he sat on the edge of her bed, or when he ran a hand across her hair.

"Oh Gracie, what's wrong, are you okay?" He asked gently.

She raised her head, revealing red raw eyes and heavy streaks down her cheeks, to hiss, "Leave me alone!"

Then she buried her head again. Steve's chest ached harder. He stroked her hair gently as he shook his head.

"Sorry babe that's not gonna happen."

She squealed furiously into her pillow, but it was followed by a sort of half sob, half choking sound, and a gasp for breath. He wasn’t really sure how to react to that. 

Steve had been in the Navy since he was a teenager and had never had to deal with teenage girls. The closest he ever came to handling a teenage tantrum was when Mary got arrested on board a flight home. He was very ill equipped for this situation. 

But he had seen Danny try to handle this sort of thing. He had seen Danny helping Grace even when she was annoyed with him. Steve had seen Lou and his wife parenting their daughter in the middle of barbecues. Of course that was mostly just teasing her. He had seen Kono with dozens of kids who had been victims of terrible crimes though. The sympathy and understanding was something that came naturally to her and had been trained out of him. He tried to channel them anyway. They were all the guidance he had.

"Is it geography?" He asked, dumbly.

Grace slowly turned her head to reveal one eye and stare at him. It only took one eye to silently call him a complete idiot. He heard it. But he pressed on as if he hadn’t.

"I was always terrible at geography. It drove my commending officers crazy, I never knew where anything was! They had to hire me a tutor," he chuckled. 

Grace's eyes furrowed. She tilted her head a little further and croaked, "Really?"

Steve gulped as he held onto his smile and nodded. He didn’t want to give away how much it pained him to hear her voice so broken from crying. 

"Yeah well I was a kid. I didn’t even graduate high school, don't tell Danno," he winked.

Grace sighed heavily. If she had been in her normal state of mind she might have laughed. Instead, she just complained. "It's not school Uncle Steve, it's..."

Steve waited patiently for her to continue, running his hands through her hair as he did. Her hair was so long and so soft that it was easy to forget it was attached to her as he twisted it playfully.

"It's dumb," she muttered bitterly. "It's so stupid, _I'm_ so stupid-"

Steve scowled. "Hey now! No! No you are not stupid, you're a very smart, very capable young lady, and you know it. You're not stupid, don't ever say that you are."

"I am stupid, because I gave a boy my number and I actually thought he would call!" She argued.

Steve blinked. He suddenly felt very, very out of his depth. While he had no experience dealing with teenage girls, the only experience he had in dealing with teenage boys was standing in front of them and telling them about how great it is to be part of the Navy. Well, that and helping out Nahele when he needed someone to stand by him. But Nahele was sixteen. Grace, and presumably the boy she was talking about, were fourteen, and this was a matter of the heart.

This was way out of his comfort zone.

"What, uh, what boy Gracie? Does he have a name?" Steve asked uncertainly. 

Grace nodded and said nothing. Steve focused on trying to untangle the knot he had just accidentally made in her hair as he tried to think of things to say.

"Can you tell me it or do I have to guess?" He asked.

Grace sighed. She pushed herself up to sit up beside him on her bed. In doing so her hair feel away from Steve and he tried to subtly grapple it back like it was a life raft out of this conversation. 

"It's Kahili. He's on the baseball team we played against last Sunday. I gave him my number and he said he'd call but then he didn't," she said. 

"The game last Sunday?" Steve repeated. 

He couldn't remember the other team much. He had been rather wrapped up in arguing with Kamekona. 

"Yeah, you were there, remember? You told Kamekona you were amazed he still had a truck in business because if he couldn’t catch a slow ball like that he couldn’t catch shrimp and-"

"That a shrimp could outsmart him, right. I need to apologise to him for that, it was the heat of the moment," Steve groaned.

At the time Steve had been frustrated and annoyed and he had snapped. Kamekona had threatened to ban him from the grounds (again) and Steve had been avoiding him since. Now he had calmed down he felt awful about what he had said. 

"We still won though," Grace said.

"Yeah, that’s right, you did..."

When he was a little less secure in himself and his masculinity, Catherine had showed him up something chronic in their training. It had taken him a while to accept that she was better than him. That she had to be better than him. Before that he struggled to even look at her without getting annoyed. 

As much as he hated to admit it, the Male ego was fragile. Especially at such a young age.

"I asked him if he wanted to come to the celebration hotdog dinner we went to after but he said no and that he would call. I've been waiting," she complained. 

"Maybe he just lost your number?" Steve offered, as if he believed it.

"I thought about that but then I saw him talking to his cousin Aliya, and she used to be an aloha girl with me, so I asked her for his number and she said he said no," She whined.

Steve's jaw clenched instinctively. "He did huh?"

"Why would he do that?! Why would he take my number and then not call? Or not give me his?! I liked him! He was cute and he was funny and I really wanted to spend more time with him..."

Grace groaned as she buried her head in her hands again. Steve gulped. He had seen Mary in tears over some guy who never deserved her in the first place. It was hard to watch. Harder to watch Grace though. Steve had been able to threaten the guy who hurt Mary. Everything in him wanted to fight the kid who hurt Grace.

But he was just that.

A kid.

Grace let out a long and miserable sigh, and dropped her head against Steve's shoulder, "Why didn't he call Uncle Steve?"

"Because he's an idiot," Steve said, plainly.

It won him a laugh but she hit him playfully. "Uncle Steve!"

"I'm sorry but he is!" Steve insisted, "Grace you're smart, you're beautiful, you’re funny, you've got a hell of an arm when it comes to swinging a bat, you’ve got a big heart and you've got the best uncle on the whole island! If he didn't call its because he couldn't see that and that means he's an idiot."

Grace gave him a soft smile. Behind the streaks of tears staining her cheeks, her cheeks were red. Most of it was the crying, but part of it was blush. As much as her eyes were shining with tears, that small smile let him know she was going to be okay. 

"Danno would hate for me to date him anyway," she muttered.

"Danno wouldn't hate for you to date him Grace, Danno just wants you to never ever grow up and date anyone at all, ever," Steve chuckled.

"Especially not someone who's father's in jail," Grace said.

Steve felt a pang of alarm. Of course he didn't want to put Grace off of dating anyone, especially not someone who needed someone as kind and lovely and understanding as her, but that word struck fear into him. Although he knew plenty of people who had parents in prison but they themselves were sweet and kind. Nahele for one. Adam for another. If Danny had his way those kids would never get a chance. 

"There's nothing wrong with a kid whose father is in jail Gracie. It's not their fault who their parents are," Steve said.

"I know. And I only found out his father was in jail when Aliya told me. Apparently he stole some stuff and sold it and got caught. I'm just glad Danno didn't catch him," Grace said.

"What's his name?" Steve asked curiously. 

"Not sure. Kahili's is Kahili Keliʻi though. He lives over on the windward side. Goes to some other school over there," Grace said. 

"A school for people who are too stupid to see how awesome you are dyou think?" Steve smirked.

Now that got Grace laughing. "That was weak Uncle Steve."

"Sorry. I don’t really know what to say but I want you to feel better," he admitted.

"Can't you just give me a hug and tell me there’s plenty more fish in the sea like a normal dad?" She snorted. 

Steve blinked in surprise for a moment. A dad. That's how she saw him. Not a normal dad, but still a dad. A smile broke across his face as he held out an arm. Grace dropped against his chest, burying her head in his shoulder. Steve wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed a kiss into his head.

"There's plenty more fish in the sea," he said, warmly. When he heard her chuckle he added, "Remember that the best way to fish is with a spear so you can take out all the invasive-"

"Uncle Steve!" She laughed.

"I'm not apologising for that, spear fishing is the best way to fish, it leaves almost no trace for the fish to get hooked on and injured later, it allows you to take only what you need and prevents over fishing-" he argued.

"Dinners here!" Danny called from downstairs. 

"Oh thank God!" Grace teased.

She wriggled out of his arms and leapt off of the bed. Steve let her go. His smile widened when she wiped her eyes clear, as though she hadn’t been crying.

"Hey! I wasn't done!" Steve complained.

Grace paused at the door and looked back at him, grinning, "then we'll eat without you."

"No you don’t-" 

Steve leapt to his feet and made a dash for the door. Grace darted ahead of him, giggling. The two of them sounded like a pair of elephants racing down the stairs to the kitchen. Danny raised his head to look at them both. The impatient look fell away when he noticed Grace's eyes. 

"You okay monkey? He hasn't been upsetting you has he- Steve why are you upsetting my kids?!" He demanded. 

"Oh, um..." Grace stammered. 

Grace and Steve looked at each other as they silently tried to come up with an answer he would believe. Steve threw out an arm and gave a smile as he shrugged. 

"Haven't you ever done maths Danno? Fractions are hard!"

"Uh huh?"

Danny furrowed his brow. He had helped Grace through learning fractions years ago. He remembered because he hated every second of it. Especially converting them into percentages. Even that wasn't enough to frustrate Grace into tears. Whatever this was, it was more than school. For whatever reason, she didn't want Danny to know.

"You sure you’re okay monkey?" He asked quietly. 

Grace forced a smile and nodded sheepishly. Danny glanced between her and Steve. He still didn’t seem convinced but if they didn't want to talk he wouldn't make them.

"Then go eat. Quick before your brother gets everything, you know that belly of his is like a black hole, go on," he ushered her to the table.

Grace grinned. She ducked under his arm as he gestured to the table. Steve moved to follow and found Danny’s hand against his chest blocking his way.

"Not you, you uh, you’re not - not allowed time eat this with us tonight," he said, firmly. 

Steve's face fell. Danny tried hard not to react. When Steve looked as disappointed as he did like this it made his stomach hurt. 

"What? why?" Steve complained. 

"Kamekona said so," Danny said.

"Oh, Danny-"

"You think this is my choice? This isn't my choice. Personally I know what you’re like when you don’t eat, you’re a monster, I don’t want to deal with that, but I also don’t want to deal with Kamekona being angry at me so no, you're not eating with us until you apologise to him."

"You're right. You're right, but..." Steve sighed, "I can't talk to him when I'm hungry and that smell-"

"Did I not just say that I'm not dealing with you when you’re hungry? No, I wont, so Kamekona is outside waiting for you. I told him you wanted to apologise," Danny said.

Steve glanced at the front door. He could see the foreboding outline of his friend in the window. Steve sighed. He hated apologising, but he knew he had to. Kamekona deserved one. Besides, Steve was too hungry to put up with this. 

"Go on! Quickly! Charlie will eat all of that without you if you don’t hurry up!" Danny warned stubbornly. 

Steve laughed but nodded. Danny left him to it. Steve took a deep breath and stepped out to face Kamekona. Grace, grateful to him, set aside some of the special fried rice so Charlie couldn't get his hands on it. If she had anything to do with it, her uncle would be eating tonight. 


	2. Chapter 2

There are some simple rules to a good apology. The most important being you have to mean it. You have to show your remorse for your actions and acknowledge the hurt that you caused to someone else. Steve was never really any good at that. But he stood in front of his friend, who he had hurt, who he deeply regretted hurting, and he tried to find the words to make it all better.

"I'm waiting," Kamekona said, folding his arms darkly as he did.

"I know. I..." the words caught in his throat immediately. 

Ask no questions give no answers was an unwritten rule of the Navy. No matter how much you regretted your actions - and Steve bitterly regretted a lot of them - you couldn't openly take responsibility. You couldn't repent. You couldn't apologise. 

So he'd never been very good at it.

Kamekona huffed and rolled his eyes impatiently at Steve. "Y'know if you can't do this now, how you think Charlie's gonna be able to do it when he grows up?" 

Steve frowned. "Charlie?"

"You're setting an example for that kid. A blue print for his whole life!" Kamekona said, stubbornly, "How's he gonna learn how to apologise if he never sees you do it?"

"I never thought of that," Steve muttered.

Come to think of it, he couldn't think of a single male figure in his life that would ever apologise for anything. Not his father, not Joe, not the Navy. It was always someone else's fault. Always extenuating circumstances. 

"You gotta teach kids or they don’t learn. Even when they're fifty," Kamekona said, drily. 

"I'm thirty eight!" Steve argued.

"Close enough," Kamekona shrugged.

"Kamekona you-" 

Steve's face screwed up as Kamekona sat up, expectantly. He was ready to rekindle their argument if Steve was. But Steve stopped himself. He licked his lips. If he was going to teach Charlie better than he would have to start apologising himself. 

"You're a close personal friend of mine. I value you as a friend, as a CI, and as a chef. What I said on Sunday... none of that's true. None of it. And I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Can you speak up? You got a small voice for such a big head!" Kamekona sniped.

Steve groaned, "Alright, I deserved that. But I am sorry Kamekona."

Kamekona shifted in his seat to eye Steve suspiciously. Steve just sighed and waited for him to consider whether or not to accept. Finally, Kamekona stood up and held his arms out.

"I accept your apology," he declared.

Steve smiled, relived. He stepped closer to hug Kamekona back. The man slapped Steve's back a little harder than necessary but Steve had expected that.

"You’re just lucky I'm such a deeply generous and forgiving person," Kamekona said as he stepped back. 

Steve pursed his lips to stop his thoughts escaping. He forced them back down and replaced them with, "yep. Yes I am." 

Kamekona threw his arms out and laughed, "Wasn’t so hard was it bruh? Y’know I noticed Nahele doesn't apologise easy. Then I figured, well he never saw me and Flippa say the words because we never bothered to say it. But it builds this... this resentment in you. I saw it in the box. It's not healthy. A kid needs to learn to apologise so he can learn to forgive."

Steve's mind wandered to his conversation with Grace. If her crush didn’t have a father to show him the way, he was in much the same situation as Charlie. Grace would never get the apology she deserved. 

"Yeah... yeah he does..." Steve muttered.

"Anyway, I got better places to be than here with you. Bring it in bruddah," Kamekona said.

He pulled Steve into another hug. This time the pats on his back were a lot more gentle.

"Love you big guy," Steve said.

"Yeah yeah who doesn't?" Kamekona shrugged as he walked away.

Steve considered Kamekona's idea as he left. If a kid didn't learn to apologise, how could they as an adult? And if Kahili didn't have a dad to teach him, someone had to step up.

Not him though. 

Steve was an officer of the law. 

He couldn't just go off and forced a kid to apologise to Grace.

That was a terrible idea.

A few hours later Steve found himself parked up by a baseball field on the windward side of the island. He wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten here. He had just been thinking about whether or not they had been involved in the arrest of Grace's crush's father or not, and he had gone through his file, and found his address. The angry that was still burning in Steve's chest at seeing Grace so hurt had taken over him then. He told himself he just wanted to check out the kid.

To see who had done this to his little girl. Who had hurt her like that. 

But when he saw the little punk practicing his shot he felt the need to have a word. Man to peewee. Sense told him not to. To stay in the car and drive away now. To go home and move on and be there for Grace next time she got hurt. But the idea of a next time just angered him more. 

Maybe he couldn’t protect Grace from all the pain in the world forever, but he could damn sure stop this kid from causing her any more ever again.  
The part of his mind that was constantly sounding more an more like Danny told him to get back in the car. To leave it. To go home and avoid getting into trouble. 

Steve could ignore that as easily as he could ignore Danny. 

"Hey kid!"

The boy looked up in surprise to see a strange man jump the fence in order to head for him. But he gasped in fear when he spotted the golden glint of his badge. This guy was a cop. He couldn't argue with a cop. 

"You need to work on your form," Steve pulled the baseball bat out of his hands and aimed at the ball machine to demonstrate. "If you take the bat like this and grip it like you want to strangle someone, and then swing it, like someone's head into bricks, you can really kill that ball."

"Um, okay, Mahalo. Who are you?" Kahili asked suspiciously. 

"Me? Oh I'm no one special," Steve swung the bat through the air before letting it come to a rest at his shoulder. "I'm just the uncle of the girl who's heart you've been playing with."

Kahili gulped as he took a step back. "Which one?"

A beat of anger in his chest was only dampened by Steve being mildly impressed at the kids arrogance. That didn't come through his snarl though. 

"Which- oh which one is it, which one, why you playing with a lot of kids hearts their Casablanca?"

Again Kahili took a nervous step back away from Steve. "Who?"

 _"Grace!"_ Steve snarled furiously. How dare he not know that instantly. "My little girl Grace. Who _you_ said you were going to call. But you didn’t. Did you?"

Kahili's eyes flickered with fearful recognition as it finally clicked in his head where he had seen this man before.

"You’re that crazy guy who got kicked out of our game last Sunday!" He yelped. 

"That's me. The crazy guy. Good catch," Steve sneered.

He let the bat swing down by his side again as he slowly swaggered around to circle Kahili. The boy kept an eye on him, fearfully. Any time Steve stepped closer Kahili stepped back. He kept his distance in case he had to run. But he was very aware that Steve had his baseball bat. Steve used it twice to knock the balls thrown by the machine away from them. 

"Why didn't you call Grace?" He asked, darkly, twirling the bat as he did.

"No reason..." Kahili lied nervously, "I lost her number..."

"Oh really?" Steve asked, calmly. Kahili got the feeling that Steve wasn't convinced though. "Then uh, why wouldn't you let your cousin give Grace yours?"

Kahili swore inwardly. If he knew about Aliya then so did Grace. That meant she knew he'd blown her off. She knew and she sent this crazy old man, and now he was in trouble. 

"Um..."

"Um? Um isn’t an answer hotshot, it's a simple question, answer it."

"I don’t know..."

"You don’t know?" Steve repeated accusingly. 

He had read enough body language to know when someone didn’t understand their own reaction to things. At fourteen he hadn’t had enough experience to notice those reactions and make that connection. Steve gestured to him with the handle of the bat.

"No. Well, you’re lucky. I do. And I'm gonna do you a favour and I'm gonna tell you why - you didn’t call Grace because you're embarrassed that she’s better at baseball than you."

Kahili scowled, “What?! No she isn’t, she cant be, she's a -"

He stopped himself. He bit his lip so hard Steve could see how red it went. Whatever he had been able to say he had thought better of, which annoyed Steve. That meant he was insulting his niece again. 

"A what? Go on Romeo, finish your thought, I'll wait," he threatened. 

Kahili screwed up his face in frustration and fear as he tried to pretend that he was thinking of an answer better than the one in Steve's mind. He couldn’t though.

"It's because she’s a girl, right?" Steve challenged.

Kahili bowed his head sheepishly. The last thing he wanted was to be beaten in anything by a girl.

Especially a girl like Grace who was so good at everything at all times. To beat her took effort. Practice. It wasn't easy, and he hated that.

"You got showed up by a girl and instead of being a man about it and moving on, maybe getting some tips from her, you decided to pretend she doesn't exist and break her heart." Steve slapped the bat against his hand threateningly as he spoke. "Dumb idea."

Just before the ball machine could fire again Steve took a step to the side to switch it off. It was a lot easier to intimidate the kid when he wasn't worried about wild baseballs flying their way. 

"Y'see now she's better than you, smarter than you, and she's got a grudge against you. If she decides to take you out at the next game - and she can, I've seen her knock a grown Navy SEAL unconscious - no one will stop her. She's got a valid excuse. So who's on the losing team all over again?" Steve challenged.

"Me?" Kahili asked uncertainly. 

"Bingo!" Steve gestured the bat at him again, approvingly, "And you can't blame it on anyone but yourself this time. Not your team members, not Grace, it's all on _you."_

A look crossed this little boys face that made Steve remember that he was still a little boy, as much as Grace was a little girl. As grown up as they pretended to be they were children playing at being adults. As hurt and confused as he made Grace, he didn't know any better. It was a look he had seen Nahele give him before. He had never been able to place it, but it was always sad to see in someone so young. Steve had to stay firm, but his chest sank. 

"Does Grace really hate me that much?" Kahili asked quietly.

Steve wasn't convinced Grace was capable of hating anyone. Unlike her father who was incapable of liking anyone. 

"Not yet. She still thinks you’re gonna call. _I_ know better. But here's the thing, I don't like seeing my baby girl upset, so you're not gonna make her upset, got it?" Steve warned.

"I really did like her..." he muttered.

"Too late for that now. If you liked her you should have called now. Now you have to make it up to her," Steve stated.

"How?" Kahili asked uncertainly. 

"How'd you think?" Steve huffed.

"I'll... I'll call her as soon as I'm off the field-" he began, nervously. 

"No, no, no, see that just ain’t gonna cut it anymore. You made her cry. Now she needs an apology. A real one. _A good one_. You understand?" Steve demanded. 

Kahili gulped, "I'm sorry."

"Not to me, to Grace!" Steve cried.

He wanted to try and help this kid, to help Grace by extension, but he couldn't help feeling as though his initial assumption had been correct. The boy was an idiot and she was better off without him. 

"I'll tell her I'm sorry when I call-" he began. 

"No - what?! When you call?!" Steve repeated, screwing up his face in disdain, "What is this generation coming to, you're not gonna call, you’re gonna be a man about this!"

"I am?" Kahili looked worried at the prospect. 

"You bet your ass you am!" Steve spat, "You're going to go up to Grace _tomorrow_ and look her in the eye like a grown up. Then you're gonna give her flowers. Ocean blue morning glories are her favourite. Got that?"

"O-ocean blue morning glory," Kahili repeated with an obedient nod.

"Good. You're going to give her those flowers, and you're going to tell her that you're sorry you didn't call. That you were afraid. That she's too good for you and it made you scared," Steve went slowly but firmly so he would remember. 

Kahili had the audacity to look offended. "Too good for me?"

Steve took a deep breath and flexed his fingers to tighten his grip on the bat pointedly. The colour faded from the boy's face as he gulped again. 

"Grace is a deeply intelligent cheerleader with loads of friends, family that are more than able and willing to kill for her, she's beautiful and she's funny. On top of that she's about to win her third baseball tournament in a row. Yes she's too good for you," Steve said, firmly. 

That was one thing he and Danny agreed on. No one was good enough for Grace. No one.

Kahili scowled. He looked down at his feet. Steve could see the way he balled his hands into fists anxiously. There was an anger in him at the idea of not being good enough. 

"I have people willing and able to kill for me too y’know..." he muttered.

Steve was aware that it was supposed to sound like a threat. He had heard and given more than enough to recognise one instantly by now. However the threat held nothing to back it up. No sense that it would come true. He just sounded like a nervous kid trying to fill boots that were too big.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your dad. That’s rough," Steve said, sympathetically. 

At the mention of his family Kahili bit his lip again and turned away from Steve. He could recognise the anger in the boy. He had felt it in himself once. It usually ended one way, and it wasn't a path he liked to see anyone on let alone a kid so young. One that Grace liked in particular. It was too late for Steve to extend a hand to help, but he was already mentally shuffling through the groups and charities he worked with around the island to find one he thought might get through to the boy.

Right here and now though, this was about Grace.

"It means you need to be your own man now. A good man. And good men apologise when they've wronged someone. Understand me?" Steve demanded.

Kahili looked at him with anger and disgust and an underlining fear that told Steve he would go through with it anyway even though he didn’t want to. He recognised that look too. He had seen it before in his soldiers. Young boys who didn't actually want to hurt people, even if it was the only way to survive. He had been like them once. 

They learned fast.

"Do I have to wear a suit?" Kahili asked, bitterly.

Steve thought that might be pushing it a bit too far. Tomorrow was going to be hot and a full suit would be uncomfortable. He wouldn't want to cause any actual harm to the kid, like heat stroke, but he also couldn't just give up the tense atmosphere he had created, even to give him some leeway. Instead, he put the choice into his hands by stepping forward menacingly and asking: 

"What do you think?"

Kahili scowled at his shoes again. He was going to sulk all the way home now, Steve could tell. But he had done what he came here to do. The fury in his chest had subsided. He could leave knowing that whatever trouble he was about to fall headlong into was going to precede a brief happiness for Grace. Hopefully it would be worth it.

Steve swung the bat casually in his wrist as he called over his shoulder, "Ocean blue morning glories, don't forget. Ocean blue."

The bat clattered to the ground far enough away that Kahili wouldn't be able to reach it and reach Steve before he got back in his car even if he tried. Steve slammed his car door behind him and dialled a number on his phone as he started the engine. He glanced back at the young boy standing alone in the middle of a baseball field at dusk as the call was picked up.

"Aloha?"

"Hey, Nahele, it's McGarrett. How you been? Good, good. Listen, I've got a favour to ask..."


	3. Chapter 3

The smile on Grace's face as she stood rolling back and forth on her heels at the side of the road was dazzling. She was holding onto the straps on her backpack as she went. It was a hot day, so Danny wasn’t surprise to see that she had shed her school jumper. It was tied loosely around her waist in a kind of make shift skirt and her pale blue shirt reflected the sun as if she were glowing. She had swept her long chestnut hair over one shoulder to show off the flower tucked behind her other ear. 

If it were possible she only lit up further when she spotted her fathers car on the bend. Danny smiled to himself as she threw an arm out to wave him in. She throw out one leg at the same time, almost losing her balance as she did. She stumbled and lit up with laughter as she regained herself. Danny pulled to a stop and she threw the door open. 

"Heya Danno!" she beamed. 

"You need to be careful monkey. You could have gotten hurt just then," he warned.

Grace giggled as she settled in and pulled her seatbelt over her. "Yes Danno."

They pulled away from the curb without any fuss. Grace settled into the back seat and looked out of the window happily. The warmth of the sun shone down over her and she leaned into it. Her smile was warmer than ever. She wasn't even aware of the way she started humming to herself. 

Danny glanced at her in the rear view mirror. A smile ran across his face. Happiness radiated from her. As beautiful as she was, his eye kept trailing to that flower in her hair. It's petals were wide and tender blue. A violet streak ran across each one to a slightly darker purple at the heart of it. It was open and wide and very pretty. The blue matched her shirt wonderfully. 

But she definitely had not gone to school with that in her hair. He would have noticed. So where had it come from?

Only one option entered his mind and it struck fear to his heart. 

"So, uh, anything interesting happen at school today monkey?" He asked, casually. 

"Not particularly," She shrugged. 

Danny arched an eyebrow at her reflection. "You sure?"

"Kilo farted really loudly in maths class. It was really funny!" She giggled again.

"Sounds it," Danny muttered.

He knew Kilo. Well he didn’t _know_ him but he knew what Grace thought of him. He was the class clown. She said he reminded her of Steve sometimes so he was a goof. They didn’t need another goof in their lives.

“Anything else? Something a little more _unusual_ maybe?” he asked. 

“Um, yeah actually, I saw Nahele! He said he’s joined this big brother scheme to help kids like Uncle Steve and Uncle Kamekona helped him and he was meeting a new little brother today,” Grace explained happily.

She was oddly proud of Nahele. She didn’t have much to do with him since he had stolen her Uncle’s car. He came to barbecues sometimes and they would talk, she thought he was funny and she liked how eager he was to share whatever new thing he had learned that week, but they weren’t close. She had always been slightly wary – they had met because he was stealing a car after all – and his job with Kamekona kept him busy. But he had come far since the first day they had met and now he was helping others too. She was happy for him.

“That’s great right? He’s a good kid that one. Brings out the best in people,” by people Danny meant Steve.

Danny couldn’t say he would ever have given Nahele the same kind if break that Steve did, but it was easily his second favourite thing Steve had ever done. It very quickly followed Steve arguing with the governor to ensure that Rachel couldn’t take Grace off the island without him back when this place was only staring to look like home. When it came to children, Steve was a pushover. A protective pushover but a pushover. And Danny loved it.

“Did Nahele give you that flower?” Danny asked curiously. 

Grace continued to gaze out of the window and smiled calmly. The terror that usual gripped her chest when Danny questioned her about her love life never appeared. She was much too happy with the apology she had been given to be afraid of her father.

“No,” she said, plainly.

"No? Well who, uh, who did? It’s pretty," he said, pointedly.

Grace smiled down at her lap as her hand moved to the flower and her cheeks flushed slightly pinker.

"It's an ocean blue morning glory," she said 

"A mo- morning glory huh?" Danny choked.

The only kind of morning glory he had ever heard of were definitely not flowers. Grace, however, had no idea why he suddenly seemed uncomfortable so ignored it.

"They're my favourite," she said.

He glanced at her in the mirror again, "I thought daisies were your favourite?"

"They were when I was younger. Now it's these."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"No. No one knows really. Except uncle Steve."

She gazed calmly out of the window again, but there was a certain tone to her words. A level of knowing that Danny didn't understand. 

"Uncle Steve?" He repeated, curiously.

"Mmhmm," she hummed, nodding. "He asked me what my favourites were once when we were buying flowers for lei day."

"That's nice. That was a while ago though, are you sure he remembers?" Danny asked.

Grace chuckled to herself. "Oh I'm sure."

Danny glanced at her again. It was always annoying when suspects avoided answering what he wanted to know, but it was even more annoying when it was Grace. He couldn't push Grace. He couldn't manipulate her like a suspect. Because she wasn't one, she was a child. His child. 

And she could put him in his place with ease. 

"Where uh, where'd you get it?" He asked.

"It was a present," she said.

He had guessed that much. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Yeah? From who?"

"Someone who wanted to apologise," she shrugged innocently. 

His grip on the wheel tightened slightly at the idea that someone had upset his little girl. He kept his tone controlled. 

"Oh, really? What did they do?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter anymore, I've forgiven them and moved on, just like Grandma always says," Grace waved her have through the air in the same way her grandmother always had when she was young. 

"That's uh..." Danny thought back to the days of his youth where his mother would talk them through their problems by helping them plot their revenge. She had softened since becoming a grandmother. "That's great monkey. They look very pretty. You're a real beautiful young lady, y’know that?"

Grace smiled and met his gaze in the mirror. "Mahalo Danno."

Satisfied for the time being, Danny let her go back to watching the world pass by their window. He didn’t touch the radio. Listening to her humming happily to herself was far more enjoyable. 

She sat up as they turned into their drive way. She could see Steve's truck from here. The connections in her mind sparked, and flicked a switch in her. Danny didn’t see it coming.

Steve spent enough time hanging around Danny's place that Danny had developed a habit he barely even noticed these days. As he walked through the door and dropped his keys into the bowl on the table he called out to what should have been an empty house.

"We're home."

Summoned from the kitchen, Steve appeared with a bowl of soup that he had made for himself in the gap between him arriving and Danny arriving. Danny set a hand on his hip and huffed impatiently at Steve 

"I said that key was for emergencies only Steve," he said. 

"This was an emergency! I was hungry and you weren't here," Steve grinned.

Grace stomped up the steps to the lalani and into the house with her bag hauled over one shoulder. Steve perked up to see her. He was even happier to see that flower tucked behind her ear.

"Aloha, welcome home! How was school?" He beamed.

Grace threw her bag aside and glared furiously at Steve. "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU UNCLE STEVE!"

"Huh?" Danny did a double take. 

Grace was fuming. He could see it in her eyes. She was nothing like the happy little girl that he had driven here from school. Steve looked alarmed. Maybe even a little afraid. Danny took a step back. He had seen that look on Grace before when she was a toddler. She got mean when she missed naptime. Steve looked surprised. 

"Me? I didn't do-" 

"Save it, I know exactly what you did!" She snarled.

Danny pursed his lips. He had heard that accusation thrown at Steve before. Usually by the governor though, not a furious teenage girl. Usually - in fact every single time but one - they were correct in their assumptions. And by the way that Steve raised his hands to his shoulder height and glanced at Danny told him every he needed to know.

"Alright, look, Gracie-" Steve began. 

That was all the confirmation Grace needed to throw a couch pillow at him.

"YOU ARE _INSANE_ AND YOU ARE _EMBARRASSING_ AND YOU HAD _NO RIGHT_ TO CONFRONT HIM ABOUT ANYTHING! THIS WAS MY PROBLEM UNCLE STEVE! _MINE!_ I HAD TO DEAL WITH IT, I CAME TO YOU FOR SYMPATHY, NOT SO YOU COULD GO BEHIND MY BACK AND THREATEN MY FRIEND! _GOD!_ I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

Danny hid his laughter behind his hand as he watched Steve dodge the flying cushions that Grace was throwing. In principle he agreed with Grace. Steve threatening a kid into anything was morally - and legally - wrong. But in practice, Danny couldn't say he wouldn't do the same thing. 

"I'm sorry! Alright?! I'm sorry- I really am!" Steve insisted. 

"He apologised in front of _everyone_ Uncle Steve! He told _everyone_ that he broke my heart and it's not even _true!"_

"But you said-"

"I was exaggerating! I was hurt! It wasn't true!"

"Okay, but I didn't tell him to say that Gracie I promise!"

"But you did when you made him apologise!"

"I'm sorry!"

Between dodging cushions his voice was tight and urgent and it made his apology slightly unbelievable. Grace threw the last cushion onto the floor. She gesticulated as much as her father when she was angry.

"Sorry isn’t good enough Uncle Steve! You crossed a line and you know you did! You really embarrassed me!" She cried furiously. 

"I never meant to embarrass you and I am so sorry that I did," Steve insisted earnestly. 

"Why would you even do something that stupid Uncle Steve?!" She whined.

"He upset you and I'm sorry but I can't stand to see you cry. I thought I could fix it-"

"Well you didnt!"

"I can see that!"

"Don't you _ever_ do _anything_ like that again, understood?!" She shouted.

Steve nodded, "Yes. I won't. I promise."

"Good!" Grace shouted. Her arms fell by her sides as she ran out of anger, but she wasn't about to let go of the upper hand so easily. "And make me and Charlie pizza for dinner!"

Danny’s eyes widened, "Oh, no, Gracie-"

Steve nodded obediently, "Alright."

"Good!" she shouted again, slightly lost, and still annoyed. Part of her was still glad he did it though, because it had satisfied her for a while. And she was pleased that he remembered her favourite flower. He had meant well. So without missing a beat she also shouted, "I love you!"

Steve held back a smile as he tried to keep the guilty look on his face but he could read Grace like a book. Whatever he had done, no matter how stupid, he had done some good. He would never do it again though.

"I love you too."

Grace huffed at him. She held onto his gaze for a moment longer, then snatched up her back pointedly and stormed off for her room. Danny scratched her chin as he watched her go. Once alone he edged closer to Steve. They waited. Upstairs a door slammed shut. Steve let out a relieved breath. He had definitely been put in his place.

"That was intense!" he chuckled.

Danny forced a smile in acknowledgment. "What, uh... what, what was that all about?"

Steve gave an innocent shrug. "Nothing important. Just some kid who's gonna think twice before ghosting someone next time."

Danny raised his chin and repeated, "Ghosting?"

Steve smirked, "You’re too old to get it."

"I’m too old huh?" Danny scoffed. "Does this uh... does this have something to do with why we have a meeting with the head of the school tomorrow morning?"

 _We._ It probably wasn't the best time to smile to himself, but Steve couldn't hold it back. Danny slipped so easily into accepting him as part of the family that he just expected Steve to attend family meetings now. No matter what had gotten them there, he was always so pleased to hear it every time. 

"Oh almost definitely," Steve nodded.

"Of course. Was it at least worth it?" Danny challenged.

"Did you see the flowers in her hair? It was definitely worth it!" Steve said firmly.

"Uh huh? Right..." Danny had a choice here. Press for more information and be furious now, or find out tomorrow and be furious and innocent. He chose the latter. "You are not getting her pizza for dinner tonight by the way."

Steve's smile vanished. "What? But I just promised-"

"I already defrosted ma's lasagna-" Danny began, firmly.

"We can eat that tomorrow-" Steve began.

 _"We?"_ Danny scoffed, amused, "You think you're not going to bed with no dinner tomorrow night after whatever you've just pulled?"

Steve's eyes were wide but his mouth just gaped. Danny had him. It was a trap! He stared at Danny as he wandered off towards the kitchen.

"Danno- Dan -"

"No pizza Steven!"

Steve cursed inwardly. If he didn't get a pizza Grace would be mad but if he did Danny would be mad. He had to choose between Williams! Well he had already upset Grace once today and he was always upsetting Danny. He would find a way to make it up to him.

Then again tomorrow he'd be in even more trouble so he might as well start digging the hole now.

Besides, pizza would make Grace happy. 

Steve grumbled to himself. Making Grace happy had gotten him into a lot of trouble recently and he could see more heading his way.

Still, it was worth it.


End file.
